Since I have upgraded to a great Midi Module, I need BIAB to save Channel information with the song. I need to switch channels from a channel with regular piano to a Channel for a Rhodes Piano with Special Effects applied only to that channel. Then I need to switch back to the normal #3 Piano channel for the other songs with normal piano sounds. BIAB allows one to change Channels, but this is a Global Change. This change is not remebered by the songs. The global change will not change back until a manual change is made. It would be great if this information is saved with the song so that the song itself will allow you to change channels to the one you want. This would add lots of flexibility.
Thanks
lb

Ok so I read that 3 times and don't get it.

I use a Ketron. I use Save with Patches and Harmony.

Works fine.

There are also settings that allow you to stipulate to allow or not allow the style to change your settings. So for example if a style says the piano is a regular piano, unless you change yonder setting, the preferences setting will override your pref.

Poke around some more, I'm sure what you want to do is there.

Secondly Post this in the Band in a Box forum. Lots of people don't read this much.

You don't want to change channels.

You want to simply change MIDI Patches.

BiaB can do that easily enough.

What version of BiaB are you running?


--Mac

Sorry, Midi patches will not do it. It is like setting up effects on your mixer. Certain channels have effects set up on the mixer. These effects are not changeable through patch changes.So the patch entering a channel will have effects assigned to it. Some instruments have effects set on one channel. I would like certain piano settings to have a different channel setup so the effects will be assigned only to that instrument. These are effects settings, not patch settings. BIAB does not save the channel settings saved with the song.
lb

Sorry, I had a chat with Tech support. We both tested the saving of the Channel information. We both saw how the Channel information is not saved. Volume, Chorus, Panning, etc, is saved. The Channel information is a global setting and is not saved. Try it, then bring up another song and you will see that the channel information is the same as the last song. BIAB does not save Channel information at this point.
lb

BIAB does not allow you to change channels on a particular track; it allows you to change patches, but it will retain the channel. Yes, channels are global and you can remap them, but each track will use the same channel throughout. Of course the melody channel can be enabled for multi-channel, but that's for static MIDI data, not style patterns.

I would suggest looking into using RealBand, instead, where you have 48 tracks and you can easily copy parts to multiple tracks that each can be assigned to different channels easily.

I don't do this in BiaB so don't know if it is possible, but I do it in RB, PT and a few other brands of sequencing softwares quite a bit (I also have programmed MIDI Controllers to do this when playing the synths in realtime performance):

If I want to have the Effects that are available in some of my hardware MIDI units, when I invoke a Patch Change, I also invoke the command for that Effect at the same time.

This is often a Sysex command -- and that is a function of how the particular synth was set up by its developers.

Anyway, it solves the problem handily.

I don't think BiaB is set up to send Sysex strings, though.

And its ability to send CC's may also be limited, but if your synth does respond to CC numbers to invoke its Effects, that's another way to get what you want done.

You have to look at it from a different standpoint. Rather than trying to change channels midstream, change the Patch, via Bank also if necessary and, right after that command, send the Effect's parameter. The end result would be the same thing, it is just that it all happens on the same channel.

You might be able to press a programmable MIDi Controller into service for this task. Something cost effective like the Behringer MIDI Control footswitch device. And program it to send the string with a certain single button push.

HTH,


--Mac

Thank you all for trying to solve this problem. But saving channel information with the song does seem like a simple BIAB programming change. Other parameters are saved, such as Volume, Chorus, Panning, etc. But the Channel information is not saved. If Channel information is saved with the song, it would add much flexibility to existing Midi device. Thegiven suggestions are very complicated and will not work for my midi device. It would be great to have the flexibility to call up a song and have Piano on Track 1 instead of Track 3. Then the next song can have the Piano switch back to Track 3 automatically. That would enable me to program great Rhodes effects on Track 1 and program natural Piano effects for Track 3 in my Midi device. This does not seem like a hard thing to do for BIAB. Am I missing something?
lb